Kids with ADD and Reading Disorders Share Similar Impairments

A study conducted by the Hannah Khoushy Child Development Center in Israel shows that children with ADHD, reading disorders (RD), or comorbid ADHD and RD, share characteristics in functional impairments.

The study compared four groups of adolescents on reading measures, attention and executive functions, phonemic awareness, and rapid naming. The children with comorbid ADHD and RD demonstrated the same impairments in attention and executive functions as the pure ADHD group, and the same impaired reading domain functions as the pure RD group. They also showed deficits in rapid naming and more severe impairment in working memory.

The findings can help provide a clearer clinical profile of the comorbid conditions. In particular, parents and professionals will want to closely consider attention and executive functions throughout the diagnostic and remediation stages.

The study was published in the May 2007 issue of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines.